Ephemeral
by greenteamoose
Summary: That was it, then, was it? A weary Sasuke experiences a mixture of fleeting thoughts after his battle against his brother. /Oneshot companion to "Eternality," Sasuke-centric


**Ephemeral**

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Note:** CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM _NARUTO _MANGA CHAPTER 394.**

_Companion to "Eternality"_

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That was it, then, was it?

They had a genjutsu clash, then an exchange of increasingly powerful ninjutsu until they both drained their chakra. Then Itachi approached him, tottering dangerously upon the very legs that had once carried his back far away from him. He had reached out a trembling hand caked in crimson paint and lifted it towards Sasuke's eyes. _My eyes_. What he wanted the most, his own blind ones staring at them in deep desire and wistful longing.

Sasuke almost—_almost_—pitied this sad human he had once called brother. The brother he had once admired had taken on the status of an S-class criminal; now his criminal brother had lost his vision and was pitifully seeking refuge in the eyes of his _foolish_ little brother, the one he had deemed too weak and unworthy to kill. Sasuke could have laughed dryly at the irony now.

Yet he was frozen by fear. Nothing he did—from his kunai to a string of explosive tags to his chokuto blade—could get past Itachi's Susanoo. The heavy terror seeped into every crevice of his being, stiffening the tissues of his muscles, forcing his wide eyes to stare at his helplessness in the face. A trapped animal—too weak and lacking hatred—once again.

_Shit, I've come so far—I'm not going to die, I'm not going to die, I'm not—_

Step by step, breath by breath, he came closer.

—_going to die, I'm not going to die, I'm—_

Wobbling and bleeding. With outstretched fingers pawing piteously in front of his eyes.

—_not going to die, I'm not going to—_

Sasuke's chest pounded painfully, quivering and screaming in sheer horror.

—_die, I'm not going—_

He pressed himself against the wall bearing the Uchiha crest—

—_to die, I'm—_

—and powerlessly watched his brother close the distance between them—

—_not going to die—Oh shit oh shit he's rightinfrontofme—_

Then a poke. And a little patch of blood on his forehead where Itachi had prodded him, just like ten years ago—a lifetime—when he kept begging Itachi to help him with shuriken training.

Then Itachi's head fell towards the wall—and he collapsed—slowly—then swiftly.

That was it.

Sasuke felt nothing. The glory he had imagined he would feel upon defeating Itachi was... lackluster… hollow. No sentiments swelled within him as the moment passed in a trance upon leaden legs. His ears rang silently in a roaring fit, beating in sync with his restless heart.

_He's not getting up._

Stormy clouds above churned darkly in the wake of his Kirin through which Itachi was even able to survive.

_Is it really over?_

Gradually, as the heavens growled and snarled, the realization—the shock—hit him.

His brother was dead.

Then the storm broke in Sasuke's mind. A flurry of sentiments raged, each remaining in the core of his soul briefly before dashing away on fleeting wings. He could not distinguish between them in their ephemeral states.

And he could not understand. Revenge was supposed to simple: he was supposed to kill his brother and avenge his clan.

Why was he simultaneously feeling so many complicated emotions? Why were his emotions suddenly so transient?

Then the smudge of bloody Itachi had left on his forehead slowly trickled down his cheek. Almost—_almost_—like a red tear.

Then the rain began to fall, mixing with the single crimson drop on Sasuke's face until a flow of tears was streaming down his pale face.

His stoic expression never betraying his inner turmoil, Sasuke wearily looked down at the mangled body of his brother and could have—_almost_—sworn that he saw the barest fraction of a smile on his face.

There were many unanswered questions roaring inside him, but the incoming exhaustion began to impede his sense of reasoning. Intense soreness lashed at his back, his limbs, his eyes. He knew he had overexerted himself, and without the remarkable healing power of Orochimaru's white snake, he would undergo a sluggish recovery.

Even so, as the thunder rumbled and the eternal black flames of Itachi's Amaterasu flickered, Sasuke knew he was fading fast. All the fleeting moments of emotions—of fear—of apathy—of shock—of confusion—of (_grief_)—cumulated into… nothingness. An evanescent cluster of sentiments disappearing into thin wisps.

He closed his eyes.

Allowing a bitter smile to cross his face, Sasuke yielded to the exhaustion and collapsed on the stone ground alongside Itachi, allowing his unheeded questions to flow into the rainy pools of unfurling scarlet blossoms.

That was it, then.

The deed was done, and it had been an ephemeral glory.

But it was enough.

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**A/N**: When Chapter 395 confirmed Itachi's death (I bet Tobi drugged him or beat him up prior to the Itachi/Sasuke battle, considering Zetsu's note that Itachi had already sustained damage and wasn't using his full power! I could start rambling my hypothesis, but I'd be digressing…), I decided to write that moment from Sasuke's point of view. They were such similar brothers, yet their fates were different, hence the opposite meanings of the two stories: "Eternality" (Itachi's death) and "Ephemeral" (Sasuke's short-lived victory).

_Naruto_ (c) Kishimoto


End file.
